As we reflect on the season past and look back on our adventures, what are we thankful for? I thought over the next few weeks as we lead up to Thanksgiving, we might look at some things we receive but don’t always notice. This week let’s be thankful for forgiveness. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Have you ever done something wrong? Seems like a simple question with a simple answer, but why is it we forget that when it comes time to forgive someone else from a mistake they made. Forgiveness is something we want to receive but many times are not as willing to give.

Let me set the record straight, we all make mistakes. We all make choices that seem right at the time but in retrospect they were not the correct ones. Why have we become a society that has developed a less forgiving attitude? Zero tolerance is not the right way to deal with mistakes.

Forgive and forget; a familiar refrain, but one of the most difficult things for us to do. This is where pride, ego and arrogance rise to the surface. We dig in our heals and puff up our chest. We want to get back at the person who wronged us.

We have a need to get even. We have our rights and no one is going to take advantage of us. We say that we forgive but we will never forget. We think it is our right to hold a grudge and determine what the punishment should be. We become judge and jury.

We tend to be unforgiving people when it comes to others, but we want to be forgiven when it comes to us. That is where we struggle to understand forgiveness. We struggle to grasp the magnitude of the burden that holding a grudge puts on us.

It can be hard to understand how someone like Erika Kirk can have the strength to forgive the man who assassinated her husband Charlie. That seems so hard of an effort, but without the release of forgiveness we bind ourselves to live in the prison of unforgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t about excusing or approving someone’s actions, it is about removing the burden of being the judge and jury. It frees us up to move forward and let God decide.

Romans 12:19; NLT; Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

Let’s take a look at how God views this. God’s rules never change. His standard is always the same. God does not accept our sin, falling short, intentionally acting or talking in a way that doesn’t honor Him. God is right and just, transgressions are not something that God can accept. God says all transgressions are the same, big, small doesn’t matter, all transgressions fall into the category of sin, missing the mark. We all have made them and all will have to suffer the consequences.

Romans 8:23; There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And the penalty is the same;

Romans 6:23a; For the wages of sin is death,

But when we look at the rest of that verse and we start to see what God intends for us.

Romans 6:23b; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.         

God said I will make a way for your mistakes to be forgiven; I will send My Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for you.

 John 3:16-18; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

God provided this opportunity for forgiveness and we can receive it by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When we do we make peace with God, we restore our relationship with Him, and our sin is forgiven, remembered no more.

Ephesians 2:8-9; For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Take a look back and see if there are some people you need to forgive. We are expected to forgive as God forgave us. That means not because we deserve it but because He loves us. Forgive not because they deserve it, but because God forgave you.

We cannot experience the full blessing of God if we refuse to forgive others. Our unwillingness to forgive implies that our standard is greater than God’s. That is not correct; God’s standard is the only one that counts. If God is willing to forgive you there is no reason we could have for not forgiving others.

Make that commitment this week. Commit that you will go to the people you have refused to forgive and forgive them. Don’t worry if they refuse to accept it, many have refused to accept the forgiveness that God offers. We are not called to make people accept our forgiveness, but to offer the gift. Offer that gift to someone today.

Blessings,

PD